This one has always puzzled me. The 2nd or third largest market in the country and they could not keep the Rams in town. The Rams had tradition and winning seasons but still had financial problems and trouble filling the stadium. San Fran and San Diego have no problem supporting their team. And yes the weather is nicer in San Diego. I always cringe when watching a game and hear...for a game break out to James in LA!!! WTF are you broadcasting from La FOR?? No NFL team in LA...please. OK I had to rant. Thanks guys!!
A few reasons as to why:
1. LA is a glamor town, celebrities like to be seen and not heard. With 100,000 plus stadiums, it is impossible to be seen without "court side" seats which is logistically difficult in football. Even with expensive sky box suits, it is difficult for cameras to pick out celebrities.
2. Too many alternative entertainment options.
3. Start time of games. Sunday at Noon local time? Everyone is still hungover for Saturday night's drinking festivities.
4. Budget situation with regards to stadium financing. The CA and LA budgets are so perilous, it is difficult to justify using public funds to build a state of the art stadium and continue maintenance / upgrades on it.
5. Extended futility of both the Raiders and the Rams leading to their demise. In the LA market, you have to be like the Lakers and compete for a championship every year, history means nothing. If you go 3-4 years without making a good run at a championship, you become extinct in a hurry in favor of the latest fad.
in LA doesn't win, the people in LA don't go. I noticed a lot of empty seats at a USC game late in the year. USC wasn't going to win the Pac-10 or be highly ranked, so a lot of their "fans" didn't show up. LA simply doesn't deserve an NFL team!
developers of football stadium from the Environmental Quality Act. Don't fret, there will be pro football in Los Angeles for two reasons:
(1) The TV market- 2nd largest - duh!
(2) The NFL wants to develop the Latino market.
In the meantime, until some hapless city losses it's NFL franchise, LA can enjoy the best games in the nation without Direct TV, enjoy.
One very simple reason: lack of public financing. The NFL does not want to establish a precedent where an owner has to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on a new stadium when that money could be better spent on a billion dollar franchise fee to be shared by the existing league owners. It would make it easier for other cities and states in the future to deny public financing to teams wanting to build new stadia.